Insurance comparison site The Zebra raised $150 million in new financing that will support expanded hiring and brand building.

“This investment is going to be used to grow our team and build our brand. We are accelerating our efforts to make The Zebra a household name and help educate, empower and advise consumers to find the best policies for their unique needs,” The Zebra CEO Keith Melnick said in prepared remarks.

Funding will go, in part, toward existing programs put in place over the last year, including a national advertising campaign, additional tools and information added to better serve consumers, and also expanded home and auto bundling capabilities.

The Texas-based InsurTech said KDT, Weatherford, Accel, and Daher Capital were involved in the new round. To date, The Zebra has raised more than $250 million including seed funding. Beyond KDT, Weatherford, Accel and Daher Capital, The Zebra’s investors include Silverton Partners, Ballast Point Ventures, Floodgate Fund, and Melnick himself. The company claims its newest, Series D financing round values it at more than $1 billion.

The Zebra said its business grew “significantly” in 2020 and it has continued that momentum, despite the ongoing pandemic. The company claims net revenue expanded from $37 million in 2019 to $79 million in 2020, with a current annual run rate of $150 million.

When asked about The Zebra’s profitability projections, Melnick told Carrier Management via email that the company had initially projected reaching break-even status or profitability by the end of 2021. But the new venture capital investment and plans to boost marketing and size changes that projection.

“Likely [break-even or profitability] will happen next year, but we are still optimizing our 2022 plans,” Melnick added. It’s all part of the benefit of being a private company that we have the flexibility to go after high growth opportunities if we see them without worrying about the reaction of the markets.”

Hiring has been robust already. The Zebra said its roster grew from approximately 200people in early 200 to more than 325 now, as employees pivoted to working entirely remotely “for the duration of the pandemic.”

The Zebra, which is headquartered in Austin, launched in 2012.

Source: The Zebra